TechBUZZ Audience Votes 3 Companies as “Best of the BUZZ”

Capital Connection’12, a nationally recognized technology industry conference, debuted 28 emerging technology start-ups on the TechBUZZ stage and three earned the title of “Best of the BUZZ” and head to the Main Stage Thursday afternoon to compete in the TechBUZZ Showdown. Real-time audience feedback through a mobile application made possible the immediate selection of the “Best of the BUZZ” companies that will introduce their breakthrough companies to a powerful and influential audience at the Capital Connection’12 finale.

The selected TechBUZZ’12 “Best of the BUZZ” companies are:

Augaroo
Cont3nt.com
Speek

Augaroo is building a next generation real-time big data visualization system called Zoomdata. Zoomdata processes real-time data streams and generates tactile, interactive visualizations on web and mobile devices. Through Zoomdata, which is currently in beta testing, users can experience data analysis in an entirely new and potentially disruptive way.

Cont3nt.com, winner of Startup America TechBUZZ Challenge Contest, is a real-time marketplace for entrepreneurial media and visual journalism. Founded by media-techy Anton Gelman and news-cameraman Daniel Shaw, Cont3nt.com enables ecommerce for breaking news, and allows a reporter in Libya, Syria or Occupy Wall Street to sell their videos and photos to the BBC or their local paper and have them published in a half-hour. Sales happen in real-time to any media company worldwide through the Cont3nt.com platform, email or a 3-click purchase via Twitter.

Speek is a simplified conference calling service which leverages modern web services and VOIP/Telephony gateways. Speek users will be able to own a "Speek" line which may be shared via a personal URL (e.g. speek.com/john). Speek leverages viral growth principals and will offer free and premium services.

“The energy and enthusiasm for this event is evident by the 150 CEOs and 200 CXOs from more than 200 companies who pre-registered. Many began arriving in time to hear a riveting afternoon of presentations by young companies with phenomenal ideas,” said Thanasis Delistathis, Founder and Managing Partner, New Atlantic Ventures. Mr. Delistathis is serving with Steve Fredrick, General Partner, Grotech Ventures; and Tom Roberts, Partner, Harbert Venture Partners as Capital Connection'12 Conference Co-Chairs.

“With standing room-only, TechBUZZ can best be described by the incredible energy and enthusiasm of these entrepreneurial ventures that electrified the audience, creating quite a buzz about the cutting-edge solutions that are on the verge of making a big splash in the marketplace,” said Julia Spicer, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association and President of Capital Connection.

The 28 finalists were comprised of 27 selected from a record number of entrants through the TechBUZZ application process. More than 200 early stage and start-up companies representing a diverse range of industry fields submitted their ideas and models in hopes of securing a moment in the spotlight as TechBUZZ presenters. The 28th finalist was the winner of the nationwide Startup America TechBUZZ Challenge Contest.

TechBUZZ kicked off on May 23 at 1:00 p.m. with a keynote from Founder and CEO of Opower, Dan Yates. The TechBUZZ program followed with each company giving a four minute presentation on their business concept as a game-changing technology-based solution. This rapid fire format provided the audience with a snapshot of some of the promising, emerging technologies and business models in development. The top presenting companies selected by the audience were named “Best of the BUZZ” and advance to the final event of Capital Connection’12 – the TechBUZZ Showdown at 4pm on May 24th, when the “Best of the BUZZ” will provide an encore presentation of their TechBUZZ pitches to the entire Capital Connection audience. With audience feedback, one TechBUZZ company will be named the 2012 champion.

Key features in this year’s Capital Connection and TechBUZZ conference:

• Keynote and Featured Speakers: Chairman and CEO of Revolution, Co-Founder of America Online, chairman of the Startup America Partnership and ultimate entrepreneur, Steve Case; Gilt Groupe CEO and Co-Founder, Kevin Ryan; and CEO and Founder of Opower, Dan Yates. An investor panel featuring Peter Barris, Managing General Partner, New Enterprise Associates (NEA); Cameron Lester, General Partner, Azure Capital; and Tony Palcheck, Managing Director, Motorola Ventures Motorola Solutions Venture Capital at Motorola Solutions. Media moderators: Dan Primack, Senior Editor, Fortune.com and Dan Beyers, Editor of Capital Business, The Washington Post.
• Who’s Hot: A who’s who of hot companies and recognizable market leaders.
• What’s the BUZZ? The high energy, fast-pitch TechBUZZ program showcasing what’s new and fresh from Seed Stage startups. This year featuring the Best of the BUZZ with real-time feedback from audience participants.
• Easy Access: A new rate structure to make the conference accessible to a broad range of entrepreneurs, angel investors, incubators and companies across all stages of growth.
• Opportunity to Tell the Company Story: An unparalleled opportunity for early, growth and late stage firms to present business models for investment or showcase their success.

Capital ConnectionTM, one of the nation’s most respected industry conferences, will be held this year on May 23-24 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Registration for Capital Connection’12 with its featured innovative TechBUZZ event is now open on the conference website located at www.capitalconnection.org.

About Capital ConnectionTM
In its 25th year, Capital Connection brings together the broad community of entrepreneurial companies and potential partners to help enhance business and economic growth. Opinion leaders from business and government share their knowledge and expertise, along with leading technology companies at all growth stages who showcase their capabilities to a nationwide audience of investors, advisors, partners and entrepreneurs at the annual signature event. Launched in 2011, TechBUZZ provides start-ups and seed-stage companies center stage in spotlighting the “next big thing.” For more information and to register, go to www.capitalconnection.org.

About TechBUZZTechBUZZ was first piloted in 2010 and launched in May 2011 as a half-day conference preceding Capital Connection in response to the growing impact start-ups and seed-stage companies are having in recent years on the investment ecosystem overall. MAVA is dedicated to continuing to foster and celebrate this vital area of our membership by bringing together investors and entrepreneurs in a dynamic and meaningful format. TechBUZZ shines a well-deserved light on the visionary innovators and company-builders in our region who are actively developing their concepts, testing their beta or prototype products and services and pursuing a path toward market entry.